suggestions for penny loafers for narrower feet?
Been a struggle to find penny loafers that fit my feet. I'm normally a 8 but have a pair of 7.5D suede pennies from Rancourt that fit near perfect, yet the same size in leather are too tight on the heel and toe box, the 8D too large. Went to an Alden store in NYC and they said that the only loafers of theirs that would fit me would have to be through a custom order. I've also tried new and secondhand Sebagos with the same issue. It mostly seems to be that the 7.5D width is right but too short, the 8D toe space is better but too wide and with significant heel slippage.
Any recommendations?
5 Replies
can you not get a wide 7.5 from rancourt
have you tried B width shoes?
or C? sounds like you are assuming D is right for you but it honestly doesn't sound like it is.
Alden's custom-order is almost certainly a B/C last which are not super hard to find on ebay. Also women's shoes are all B width by default (womens size is 1.5 sizes more than mens, so a 9-9.5 for you) so they are another easy way to try narrow shoes.
Bigger brands will do narrower widths, like C and B. Alden, Allen Edmonds, GH Bass, etc.
You probably need to figure out somewhere you can try them on
Appreciate this! I think that the fact that I wear a D in other shoe sizes was throwing me off but I'll look into narrower ones. I think my worry is that some of these are clearly an issue of width but also the heel/toes being either too loose or too tight, and seeing if there are any brands that fit those rare folks who seem to fit between 7.5 and 8
I have a couple of pairs of loafers from Rancourt, and they seem pretty narrow (I ordered "wide" according to their sizing guide; my feet are not particularly wide, so I think their normal width will be narrow)